Improvement in knitting-machine



UNITED STATES PATENT .OEEIoE7 WILLIAM FRANZ AND WILLIAM POPE, OFCRESTLINE, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN KNlTTlNG-MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 88,027, dated March 23,1869.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM FRANZ and WILLIAM POPE, of Orestline, inthe county of Crawford and State of Ohio, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Knitting-Ma chines; and we do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which willenable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in knitting-machines, whereby itis designed to provide a convenient and simple arrangement by which apart of 4the needles of a rotary knitting-machine may be thrown out ofaction, to admit of narrowing and widening for forming the heels andtoes of stockings, or for knittin g other hat fabrics in strips.

Figure l represents an elevation of a circlilarknitting machine, partlyin section, having our improvement applied to it. Fig. 2 represents ahorizontal section of the same, and Fig. 3 represents the foot of astocking formed on our said improved machine.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

We have represented an annular groove, A, in this instance, for thereception of the rightangled shanks ofthe needles, to hold them out ofaction, as formed by a recess in the lower face of a ring, B, arrangedabove the cam-cylinder C, the upper face of the cam-cylinder forming thelower wall of the groove; but the said groove may also be formed whollyin the cylinder above the cam-groove, if preferred. D represents avertical groove, connecting the cam-groove and the annular groove A.

When the tubular portion of a stocking has been formed to the pointrepresented at a, Fig. 3, in order to shape the heel, we raise abouthalf ot the needles out of the camgroove, leaving the stitches onthem,by turning the cam-cylinder so as to bring the vertical groovesuccessively opposite the right-angled shanks of the needles, and raisethem by l hand, to engage them in the annular groove A, when thecylinder is moved, so as to carry the vertical groove D beyond the saidShanks. The yarn is then taken out of the carrier, and the cam runbackward once around, in order to throw the latches over the loops ofyarn on the needles. Then we carry the yarn back needle that is down,turn the machine backward half around, take up one needle on each side,put the yarn in the carrier again, and turn forward halt' around 5 thengo back again, as before, and so on until ten (more or less) needles oneach side have been taken up from the commencement of the heel. Ve thencommence putting the needles down again, in the same manner that theywere taken up, until the teu or other number taken up are thrown down.Every time a needle ils put down the thread must be carried over it tomake the stitch. Then we put all the needles down, and knit forwarduntil the foot is formed. The toe is then made up, the same as the heel,except that instead of taking up about ten needles we take up all butabout six or eight, and then put down again, the same as in making thethe toe was commenced. AWe then put all the needles down, and run thework oft' by turning once around without the thread in the carrier. Thetoe is then closed up by hand across the bottom by bringing the twosides together, and looping the stitches together, or otherwise joiningthem.

` Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- The ring B, having the annular groove A, incombination with the cam-cylinder C, provided with the vertical grooveD, substantially as described, for the purpose specited.

' WILLIAM FRANZ.-

WILLIAM POPE. Witnesses:

J. M. VAN VooRHIs, H. M. WILLIAMS.

around the outside of the needles to the last' heel, until We havearrived at the point where-

